Brewing Benevolence: Stone Brewing (Escondido, California)

Brewing Benevolence is a series of articles and interviews with breweries that are committed to more than just brewing beer in their communities. In this edition, I talked to Chris with Stone Brewing in Escondido, California. Read on to learn more about Stone’s Anniversary Celebration and why you might see some of their employees with green hair (all for a good cause, of course.)

Stone’s most notable charity event is the annual anniversary celebration. What is the mission of this event and how has it changed over the years?

The “mission” started to celebrate our anniversary and do so with our fans…as an “open house” so to speak. It just evolved from there to one of the largest single day beer festivals on the West Coast. Being that a brewery can’t pull an ABC license for an event of that nature, we partnered with the Surfrider Foundation from the beginning and have added additional charities since.

Stone also has a history of hair-dying events for charity. Can you provide a little background on this event, including the inspiration for it?

Ever dye your hair? Ever participate in a “walk-a-thon”? Well, the concept was part of both – our CEO, Greg Koch, wanted to incorporate something fun into the Anniversary Celebration, wanted to raise more money for charity, and wanted to dye his hair green. So participants get pledges to dye their hair a color of our choice for at least one week, and the event coincides with our Anniversary every other year.

Other than the ways we discussed, what other ways has Stone become involved with local charities or community initiatives?

That would take WAY too long to explain. Let’s just say that we support nearly 100 different groups annually.

What are Stone’s favorite charities to support and why?

Depends…we don’t discriminate in that regard. If someone sends us a request, it’s legal and legit, fits with our ethos, we’re going to support them!

How has Stone chosen which organizations to support? What attributes do you look for in a charitable organization?

See above…but they MUST be a 501c3 or 501c6 registered non-profit organization for Stone (or any brewery in CA) to legally donate beer for their events. And also have to comply with the normal ABC laws as well.

Does Stone prefer to support only local, community based charities or have you supported larger, national charities as well?

We have indeed supported both, but with the “national” organizations it is often a request from their local or regional chapter. (American Cancer Society, etc…)

Has Stone recognized any benefits from supporting these organizations (other than a warm, fuzzy feeling)? Specifically, have there been any recognized or measurable benefits to Stone’s bottom lines?

Absolutely…100 percent. When you get involved with people from charities and non-profits the first thing you realize is how passionate they are about their cause. They in turn become passionate about the people or companies that support them, especially if you (we, Stone) can support them on a regular or annual basis.

Stone is looking into opening a brewery in Europe. Has Stone been engaging communities abroad and if so, how?

Yes, we are looking into that and the process of a Request For Proposal (RFP) is being drafted by us. Once that is ready we’ll send it out to the interested European Communities and see what their response is, and go from there. Currently the “word is out” that we’re interested and we have heard from a few countries already.

Why is it important for Stone to support its community

To me that seems like a silly question – why would we not? I often tell people that we certainly would not be where we’re at without the support of the community, and it only makes sense to give back. I also tell people that a business can merely reside in a community, or can actually be a part of the community, and we would much prefer to be a part of it!

Thanks again to Chris and the rest of the crew at Stone.

Brewing Benevolence: Full Sail Brewing Co. (Hood River, OR)

Brewing Benevolence is a series of articles and interviews with breweries that are committed to more than just brewing beer in their communities. In this edition, I talked with Full Sail Brewing Co. in Hood River, Oregon about their employee owned brewery. With the help of Sandra, a Marketing Manager at Full Sail, I was able to get Irene Firmat, the founder and CEO of the brewery to respond to my questions. Read on for Irene’s insight on Full Sail and the Hood River community.

What specific ways is Full Sail engaging its local community?

Our employee ownership has created a powerful set of stakeholders in the Hood River community. Because our employees share equity in the company they have a great sense of roots to the where they live and work. We have a deep sense of responsibility to the beauty of the place and operate our brewery in a careful, sustainable way. We support hundreds of events and charities each year, with a focus on those in our local area. We understand the impact that a business can have in a smaller community and we weigh our decisions with that responsibility in mind, striving to support local businesses, providing jobs with full benefits and supporting our employees who volunteer.

You have an ‘Indie Links’ page on your website with local businesses that you encourage visitors to support. This is a great example of community support. What was the inspiration behind this page and why is it important for you to recognize these businesses?

We are an independent brewery and wanted to celebrate other independent businesses. There is a shared set of values and experience in choosing this path of independence and we have a great deal of empathy for those who do.

Full Sail is an employee owned brewery. For those who don’t necessarily know what all goes into that, can you give some background as to how Full Sail decided to move to employee ownership and what all it entails?

For years, we’d been thinking and talking and dreaming about the idea of becoming an employee-owned company. So many people had put so much work and love and dedication into Full Sail, and we wanted them to share the same pride of ownership we did. But that’s not the whole story. The reason we started Full Sail in the first place was to build a company that was completely different from the ones where we’d previously worked. It wasn’t about business as usual. It was about finding our calling in life — about truly appreciating our natural and  “human” resources, and balancing work, life, family and friends in a way that makes life truly worth living. It was in that spirit that we became an independent, employee-owned company in 1999, divvying up the company between the 47 of us. Of all our accomplishments, this is the one that makes us most proud.

How has employee ownership engaged the people working for Full Sail? What are its affects on employee attitude, work ethic, loyalty, etc?

The company’s willingness to share equity with the employees exemplifies the overall commitment to make Full Sail a place where we feel respected and encouraged to take on responsibility and thrive in our jobs. We as employees have a deep sense how we can affect the success of the company. We know that we are working hard and smart not just for our personal future but our fellow employees as well.

Has Full Sail supported charitable organizations either through monetary or product donations?

We support hundreds of charitable organizations many through product donation. There just seems to be a great synergy between beer and raising money for good causes and we are very happy to be a part of that.

Has Full Sail recognized any benefits from supporting these charities?

Many of the events that we support are with other businesses as well and we find that it strengthens our relationship with those business partners. We also see that our customers recognize our support of causes important to them and that increases their connection with the brand. For our employees it is an element of pride to know that we give back and support our community. While that may be “warm and fuzzy” it is one that strengthens company loyalty and that is very tangible.

How has Full Sail chosen which organizations to support?

We support organizations that will use our support well, in other words organizations that are well run. We are conscious that we are a very small company so we try to be sure to give where we can be the most help and maximize our impact.

Why is it important for Full Sail to support charitable organizations?

As my grandmother used to say, being responsible is doing the right thing when no one is looking.  We do because it’s just the right thing to do.

Thanks again to Sandra and Irene from Full Sail! Make sure you visit their website here.

Brewing Benevolence: Anderson Valley Brewing Company (Boonville, CA)

Brewing Benevolence is a series of articles and interviews with breweries that are committed to more than just brewing beer in their communities. In this edition, I talked with John, the General Manager of Anderson Valley Brewing Co. (AVBC) in Boonville, CA.  AVBC has founded their own charitable organization (Bahl Hornin’) and throws one of the best brewery parties on the west coast. Read on to learn more about both.

You founded your own charitable organization – Bahl Hornin’. First of all, what was the inspiration behind the name ‘Bahl Hornin’ and what does it mean?

Bahl Hornin’ is the Boontling for “Good Drinking.” Before the brewery, Boonville’s claim to fame was a local language that started in the hop fields.

Why did AVBC decide to start this organization and how are the values of AVBC reflected in the work that Bahl Hornin’ does?

The organization formally incorporated in 2006, but the Legendary Boonville Beer Festival was started 14 years ago as a fundraiser for local community organizations. Craft brewing is very community oriented and the people involved are more about the lifestyle than the money.  AVBC is a country brewery and we who work here are about the great lifestyle we get to enjoy – none of this would be possible without our local community.

The Legendary Boonville Beer Festival is your largest charity event. What all does the event entail and how has the community repsonded to the event?

The Legendary Boonville Beer Festival is almost an entrely volunteer generated event.  The organizations who recieve funds all put together teams to handle all the logistics and duties to put on a 6,000+ event with over 80 breweries.  The brewing community rallies by  making the trek to donate their time and beer to make one heck of a good time.  The greater community is very supportive in allowing over 6,000 people to take over the town.

How has the event grown over the years?

The event started on the brewery grounds and quickly had to move to the fairgrounds a mile down the road.  In the past five years the space for required for breweries has doubled.

How does your brewery balance planning the event with all of the day-to-day tasks associated with operating a brewery?

The fact that the community has come together for the past 14 years to make this happen makes it easy. Everyone knows what to do and it takes little effort from brewery staff to coordinate. All brewery staff donate their time to make the event happen.  It also helps to start early so our first meetings are occurring now.

Which charitable organizations has AVBC supported either through monetary or product donations?

AVBC, through the Bahl Hornin’ Foundation had given over $375K ($65K last year alone) to local organizations:

Anderson Valley Lions Club

AV Parent/Teacher Org

AV Elderhome

AV  Education Foundation

AV Sports Boosters

AV Animal Rescue

Mendocino County Fairgrounds

AV Senior Center

AV Historical Society

AV Fire Dept

AV Volunteer Fires Assoc

AV Ambulance

Mendocino County Sheriff’s Dept K-9 Unit

Kimmies of Codgy Mosh

Acorn School

Navarro River Resource Center

California Small Brewer’s Assoc

Has AVBC recognized any benefits from supporting these charities?

AVBC gets credited for throwing one of the best camp-out parties on the west coast.  Plenty of press and other accolades give us exposure and we foster greater community amongst craft brewers, as we try and make sure that they have a good time.

How has AVBC chosen which organizations to support?

The Bahl Hornin’ Foundation’s purpose is to provide charitable distributions to organizations in and around Anderson Valley, CA, that provide educational, cultural and community benefit, and to perform educational grant making activity to students of the Anderson Valley Unified School District. If they fit that definition and help out with the festival they receive support.

Why is it important for AVBC to support charitable organizations?

Anderson Valley is a small community which provides for and nurtures the employee and their families. The organizations that we support help to create the great life we get to lead here in our community. AVBC has had great success over the past two decades and it is important to help those who may need it most.

Thanks again to John from Anderson Valley. Make sure you check out their website here.

Brewing Benevolence: Lost Coast Brewery (Humboldt County, CA)

Brewing Benevolence is a series of articles and interviews with breweries that are committed to more than just brewing beer in their communities. In this edition, I talked with Briar, the GM of Lost Coast Brewing. Briar told me all about how Lost Coast is supporting their Northern California coastal community through their festivals and through the donation of not just their product, but of their time as well.

Does Lost Coast have any recurring annual events and festivals that either support the community or charity? If so, what are they and what was their initial inspiration?

We have two recurring/annual events: Oysters & Ale and The Oyster Festival (non related). With Oysters & Ale – held in Eureka on the Humboldt Bay’s waterfront a non-profit recipient is selected in advance of the event to receive proceeds from this yearly fall event. Inspiration stems from this region being somewhat famous for its Oyster Farming on the bay (Humboldt Bay) and the brewery being located on the bay’s shores.

With The Oyster Festival – held in Arcata and managed and hosted by the Arcata Merchants Association – only two local breweries donate beer or sell large quantities at reduced costs to generate proceeds to support the Arcata Plaza District. This district has historic value to the community stemming back to this area’s roots over 160 years ago. Again this event is near the bay’s shores and reflects our rich heritage to the oyster farming business as well as our two largest breweries. Lost Coast Brewery donates generously to support under-writing costs with the event. This event is in the spring.

Which charitable organizations has Lost Coast supported either through monetary or product donations?

This list is far to large to expose in such a small venue. However Lost Coast Brewery supports any and all non-profit event in CA and OR particularly in its core community of the North Coast. We have no other motive than to be fair and unbiased in supporting all/any non-profit that should request our support.

Has Lost Coast recognized any benefits from supporting these charities (other than a warm, fuzzy feeling)?

The benefits in supporting charities and non-profits are always mixed with positive marketing effects such as developing brand recognition and “true sense of community support”. Short answer is that branding and product recognition is enhanced and a venue created for brewery personnel (including myself) to engage with the community and potential product supporters.

How has Lost Coast chosen which organizations to support?

As stated earlier: We are unbiased in which charitable organizations that we support. However we do have great conscientiousness in supporting local organizations mainly due to proximity, recognition factor and overall commitment to the locals who aided us during our start-up years.

Why is it important for Lost Coast to support charitable organizations?

Both the founder/President – Barbara Groom – and I share a deep respect for this community and its various organizations and are willing to donate more than just beer: but of ourselves (time). From the initial days centuries ago breweries have the roots deep in local communities as it is those communities that they are born-in that they must aid and support if they are to exist. Breweries for centuries through German and English tradition been supporting their local communities and acting as “responsible citizens”. Barbara Groom and myself would not want that tradition to be lost with this brewery and have made it a mission to embrace this charitable responsibility above and beyond any norm.

What specific ways is Lost Coast engaging its local community?

Lost Coast Brewery has multiple facets within the community. We all live here and actively engage in all community affairs from local government to the smallest charitable organization. Barbara Groom sits on numerous boards and puts lots of her time in aiding her boards’ objectives. I too am involved in a few charitable organizations and give my time accordingly. We find it as an outlet of personal expression and general sense of accomplishment.

Thanks again to Briar and the entire crew at Lost Coast Brewery. For more information, check out their website here.

Brewing Benevolence: Firestone Walker (Paso Robles, California)

Brewing Benevolence is a series of articles and interviews with breweries that are committed to more than just brewing beer in their communities. In this edition, I talked with Jamie, the Marketing Director of Firestone Walker Brewing Co. in Paso Robles, CA.  Read on to learn how Firestone Walker is helping its community through education and donations.

What specific ways is Firestone Walker engaging its local community?

Firestone participates in over 100 non-profit related events just in California alone each year.  We typically donate beer, staff time and resources to educating people about beer while helping a worthy cause.  Additionally, we host multiple beer dinners throughout our state to showcase beers ability to pair well with foods. About 60% of those events happen within 150 miles of the brewery.

Firestone Walker hosts beer sensory classes. What was the inspiration behind this event and how has it helped Firestone Walker interact with the community?

This is something new that we introduced this year in an effort to educate our community about beer.  Specifically, we wanted to enhance the public’s beer drinking experience by teaching them to pick up the subtleties in beer, from aromas to flavors and mouth feel.  The focus of this event isn’t just our beers or beer in general, but rather how to better enjoy what you drink.  So the public walks away feeling like they’ve gained something and done so at Firestone Walker Brewery, making us more than just a place making local beer.

Does Firestone Walker host or participate in any major events that benefit community organizations or charities?

We participate in many events like this.  Locally, we team up with Hospice of San Luis Obispo County each year to put on an Oaktoberfest.  The event features some phenomenal beers, fun and great German food with all profits benefitting Hospice.  In past years we have raised over $50k for Hospice.

Has Firestone Walker recognized any benefits from supporting organizations such as Hospice of San Luis Obsipo?

This is difficult to measure exactly, but we do feel it provides us with support when the consumer is in a store.  It really is necessary as we are a part of the community.

How has Firestone Walker chosen which organizations to support?

I wish I could say that we spent a lot of time looking at this, but the reality is that we often participate where we feel there is an opportunity for a bit of mutual benefit.  Focusing on beer, food and wine events makes sense for us and supports the non-profit putting the event on.

Why is it important for Firestone Walker to support charitable organizations?

Being a small company, our promotional and ad budget is limited.  The best thing we can do for ourselves is to help others.  It has multiple and long lasting benefits and is much of the reason we have been so successful in our home market over the past 14 years.

 Thanks again to Jaime and everyone else at Firestone Walker. Make sure you visit their website here.

Brewing Benevolence: Karl Strauss (San Diego, CA)

Brewing Benevolence is a series of articles and interviews with breweries that are committed to more than just brewing beer in their communities. My first interview in this series is with Karl Strauss Brewing Company. They recently started ‘The Karl Fund,’ a scholarship designed to promote brewing education.  I talked with Ryan, the Community Marketing Manager about the Karl Fund and the other ways Karl Strauss is supporting its community.

The  Karl Fund is a relatively recent development and you’re in the process of growing this fund, correct? How are you fundraising for the initial money that will support the Karl Fund for years to come?

We are in the process of growing the Karl M Strauss Brewers Education Fund.  We have been fundraising primarily through two avenues: 1. part of the money we raise from Karlfest, a Southern California version of Oktoberfest, is donated to the Brewers Education Fund; and 2. in 2008, we brewed our first Imperial Amber Lager in tribute to Karl.  Part of the proceeds from the sales of that beer in October, Karl’s birth month, are donated to the fund.

What was the inspiration behind the Karl Fund and who are the target scholarship applicants?

We set up the Karl M. Strauss Brewers Education Fund to honor Karl and the teaching, guidance, and support he gave to the many brewers and breweries he came into contact with throughout his life. The Fund is to provide financial educational support to aspiring brewers pursuing a career in the field of brewing.  We have been talking with the good folks running the brewing programs at UC Davis about how to best maximize our funds to those means.  It looks like it is going to go toward providing a brewer with a class scholarship as well as an internship program each year.

Karl Strauss has two big charity events – Beach to Brewery and KarlFest. What was the inspiration behind each of these and how have they helped grow awareness of the Karl Strauss brand?

Our main brewery in Pacific Beach is not open to the public.  Beach to Brewery is held the second Saturday in May and is a great way for us to expose people to our brewery, give tours, scores of good beers, listen to local music, and have a great time.  In addition to partnering with Surfrider, we also partner with the San Diego Bike Club and support a bike ride from the beach to the brewery.  All around it is an opportunity for locals to enjoy sun, music, friends, and great beer, all for a good cause.

Karlfest sort of grew out of Beach to Brewery.  With October being Karl’s birth month and with us brewing an authentic Oktoberfest beer, it just seemed right to borrow a page from the Beach to Brewery book and create a second celebratory event in the Fall.  Due to the success of our partnership with Surfrider in San Diego, we quickly fell into step with the Orange County Chapter.  We invite all Orange County and LA breweries to join us at Karlfest the first Saturday in October.  It is another fine day of great beer, local music, and tasty grub, all for a good cause.

Karl Strauss a big supporter of The Surfrider Foundation. Can you give some background info on how you got involved in this organization and how Karl Strauss is supporting the foundation?

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches.  As a brewery located in Pacific Beach with employees and customers throughout Southern California, our coast is really important to us.  When we were pulling together plans for the first Beach to Brewery, the Surfrider Foundation was the cause we wanted to support.  We have cleaned beaches, brought awareness to the Surfrider Foundation, and have raised over $65,000 for them over the last six years.

How has Karl Strauss chosen which organizations to support?

Beyond our hosted events such as Beach to Brewery, we also donate beer to hundreds of organizations and causes throughout Southern California.  As a company, we focus on causes related to the environment, independent art and music, and active, healthy lifestyles.  We also support our industry, teaming up with other breweries to educate and sample people on good beer at assorted beer festivals, which are often being held to support other assorted causes.

Has Karl Strauss recognized any benefits from supporting these organizations?

It definitely contributes to company morale.  People want to feel a part of something bigger, something beyond just making money and our events and donations certainly help to reinforce that for our employees.  Of course we love to hear about an avid new customer that first tried us at one of these events or an account that is appreciative we have giving back in common.  However, we do it because it’s who we are; being part of the fabric of our community and giving back has always been a part of our company’s DNA.

Why is it important for Karl Strauss to support its community?

We have five core values here at Karl Strauss and one of them is to care for each other, our community, and our environment.  It’s just part of who we are.

Social Responsibility

Do businesses have social responsibilities? This is a question that has been argued for ages, and economist Milton Friedman would argue that they don’t. In his paper ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits,’ he states that the only goal of a business is to increase profits and shareholder value (ed. note: this might be the first time in the history of the world that an article about beer has started off referencing a dead economist). Friedman argues that spending company (shareholder) money on pet projects like charitable donations or community projects that don’t somehow increase shareholder value is an irresponsible misuse of funds.

In brewing, it could be argued that the only purpose of a brewery is to produce beer to sell for a profit to therein increase shareholder value (whether publicly or privately held). Despite this, many breweries have seemingly come down on the other side of this argument. Within the craft brewing community there are countless stories of community initiatives, environmental stewardship, and millions of dollars being donated to various charities. The craft brewing industry is a generous one, but do all these activities go against Friedman’s thesis? Could it be possible that by giving away money, beer, time, and resources these breweries are actually increasing their bottom lines?

As consumers, isn’t part of the craft beer appeal the warm, fuzzy feeling we get knowing we’re drinking a product that has a great story behind it? Whether we are told a story about wind power or cleaning up the ocean, we like drinking and buying beer that makes us feel good (aside from the obvious alcoholic properties.) In addition, we tend to have a little more pride for our hometown beers – they’re the breweries helping our communities. If breweries are involved in our communities, do we buy more of their beers?

Over the next few weeks I will be running a series of interviews with various breweries discussing their charitable causes, community initiatives and how supporting these has actually helped their businesses grow. I have a few surprises in store, including interviews with some of the largest, most well known craft breweries on this site to date. Stay tuned and check back often (or sign up for my RSS feed). The series starts tomorrow…

A Canned Revolution

In 2002 a revolution was born. “We thought the idea of our big, luscious pale ale in a can was hilarious.” Oskar Blues founder Dale Katechis had just  become the first craft brewer to can his beers and it reshaped the craft brewing industry forever. Fast forward to 2010 and now over 50 breweries are canning their beers (including some craft brewing GIANTS). Some examples:

21st Amendment

New Belgium

Breckenridge

Anderson Valley

Big Sky

Ska

In addition to some of the older breweries canning their beers, a few startups have followed in the footsteps of Oskar Blues by only offering their beers in cans including:

Maui Brewing

Upslope

Uncommon

Where will the next craft brewing revolution occur and who will carry it out? Here’s a hint: it will happen when someone finds a supposed rule of the industry and breaks it.

Credibility

In the book ‘Made to Stick,’ the authors examine why certain ideas are naturally sticky while others ultimately fail. One of the components of a naturally sticky idea is credibility. When establishing credibility, one can rely on three credibility-establishing arenas: external, internal, and audience-established. How have breweries utilized these credibility indicators, and how can they use them going forward?

External credibility is often expressed in the form of competition medals. ‘3 Medals at the GABF’ and ‘World Beer Cup Winner’ are indicators we are used to seeing. Besides touting medals, how else have breweries derived external credibility? Testimonials, industry recognition, and media coverage come to mind.

Internal credibility often rears its head in the form of statistics that might not make sense to the casual beer drinker. 50 barrel brewing system, 70 ibu’s, extended distribution network and the like. These statistics can confuse customers. Instead, breweries should consider using easier to understand examples with specific details. Compare ‘we use 5 pounds of hops in every barrel to create a complex taste profile with 85 ibu’s’ to ‘Over twice as hoppy as Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.’ Sure one conveys more critical details to the typical beer snob, but which is the easiest to understand?

Audience credibility can be extremely powerful. Instead of relying on messages directed at consumers by the breweries, now they are being asked to find out for themselves. The message, ‘compare our beer to the leading competitor and see for yourself’ invites the drinker to establish the brand’s credibility for themselves. This was the basis behind ‘The Pepsi Challenge’ years ago. Could a brewery conduct a similar challenge?

Credibility is critical to growing and maintaining market share and relevance within the consumers mind. Breweries that understand this have had their ideas ‘stick’ to their consumers and continue to reap the benefits. Which new breweries will establish credibility, and how will they do it? I can’t wait to find out.

To Brew or Not to Brew

A while back I took a look at a distribution strategy breweries have used in order to take advantage of geographic efficiencies. Part of this strategy was brewing beer using a partner brewery’s equipment located closer to the customer base (for example, Kona beer being produced at the Widmer brewery in Portland.)

In addition to this strategy, breweries are also contracting the production of their beer out to other breweries not to save money on shipping, but to focus their efforts and resources on the other aspects of operating a brewery.

‘But John,’ you may ask, ‘isn’t the most important part of operating a brewery producing the beer?’

Not necessarily.

Marketing, sales, distribution, and finance can all make or break a company. Letting someone else handle the actual brewing and packaging of the beer is an attractive option for breweries who don’t want to invest in the expensive large scale brewing equipment initially.

What breweries have done this? Perhaps most famously, The Brooklyn Brewery started brewing their beer at the Matt Brewery in Utica, NY. As The Brooklyn Brewery grew, they eventually opened up their own small brewery in Brooklyn, but the bulk of their production is still handled by the Matt Brewery. Another brewery that utilizes contract manufacturing is the Shipyard Brewing Co. Originally, they brewed their beer at the Kennebunkport Brewing Company. Once the demand for Shipyard’s beer outpaced what could be made at the Kennebunkport facility, they opened their own, larger brewery. Now with excess capacity, they are brewing for the likes of Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company.

Some breweries have become pure contract breweries and no longer have their own brands. City Brewing in LaCrosse, WI is one of the largest and has brewed Sam Adams and Smirnoff Ice under its roof.

So what are the benefits of contract brewing? First and foremost is the advantage of saved resources. Once a brewery has located a reliable company to outsource their brewing operations to, they can put forth their time and energy to finding other ways to improve the business. Instead of brewing, they could focus on improving distribution strategies, introducing new community or environmental initiatives, developing new promotions, or anything else related to the business (as opposed to the production) side of the brewery.

Are there disadvantages to contract brewing? First of all there are the obvious hassles associated with setting an arrangement like this up. However, in my opinion, the biggest disadvantage is the consumer perception of contract brewed beer. I touched on this before in my distribution article – how does a consumer perceive Kona beer if it’s brewed in Oregon? Does it lose its Hawaiian appeal? Similarly, how do consumers perceive Brooklyn beer brewed in Utica, NY? No matter the consumer opinion, it has been and will continue to be a strategy employed by breweries large and small.

Are there any other contracting breweries you know of? How is your perception of their beers influenced by these arrangements?